Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Progressive Breakfast: If Hell Had a Budget: The GOP Breaks the Ten Commandments

MORNING MESSAGE

If Hell had a fiscal policy, it would look a lot like the House GOP budget. It's a wish list for millionaires, billionaires, and corporate special interests. It also breaks most of the Ten Commandments, which is more than a little ironic.

Tell Your Senators to VOTE NO! Today and Save Health Care

Senate is voting today to health care repeal after the bill collapsed last week. Tens of millions of us will lose our health care.Call your senators: Tell them to VOTE NO!Protect Medicaid and health care for everyone in the country.

Senate Set to Vote on Health Repeal

McCain to return for pivotal Senate vote on healthcare. Reuters:“Senator John McCain will make a return to the U.S. capitol on Tuesday to play what could be a crucial role in keeping Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare afloat. McCain, who is battling brain cancer at his Arizona home, is set to help decide whether the repeal push will move forward or perhaps be abandoned entirely.”

McCain’s return to Senate injects momentum into GOP health-care battle. WaPo:“McCain’s announcement came as some Senate GOP leaders expressed confidence in a newly emerging strategy of trying to pass smaller-scale changes to the Affordable Care Act, with an eye toward continuing negotiations into the fall. It was unclear whether McCain’s return would improve the chances of the bill clearing a key procedural hurdle, as he has expressed concerns about the proposal. But some Republicans were privately abuzz with speculation that leaders might be close to securing the votes they needed to at least keep alive a months-long effort that all but died last week.”

Cities fear Obamacare repeal, warm to single-payer. Politico:“The endless saga to repeal and replace Obamacare now playing out in Congress is causing deep anxiety among an overwhelming majority of America’s mayors, 86 percent of whom say they are ‘greatly concerned’ that doing away with the insurance program would leave their citizens more vulnerable to health crises like opioid addiction and obesity. And a majority doubt that President Trump, who made dismantling the signature policy of the previous administration one of his top campaign promises, has a clear plan to replace Obamacare if Congress manages to repeal it. If they had their way, most say they would prefer a single-payer plan.”

Trump Defunds Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Trump cuts $213m from teen pregnancy prevention programs. NPR:“This month, 81 institutions around the country received a letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It said that federal funding that they’ve been getting for teen pregnancy prevention programs and research is going away. HHS quietly pulled the plug on a five-year grant program started under President Obama, a loss of more than $213 million.”

EPA Chemical Safety Nominee’s Toxic Record

Trump EPA nominee’s firm shielded polluters. The Intercept:” Michael Dourson, President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, founded and ran a toxicology consulting firm whose work enabled DuPont to avoid providing clean water to people in West Virginia after the company contaminated the area around one of its plants with a dangerous industrial chemical.”

GOP Targets Anti-Fracking Activists

Republicans brewing Russian scandal to target greens. Politico:“Republicans are trying to conjure up a Russian scandal they can get behind. GOP House members and at least one Trump Cabinet member are pushing years-old allegations from conservative activists that Russia has funneled money to U.S. environmental groups to oppose fracking. The story has reappeared in conservative circles in recent weeks — a respite, perhaps, from the steady drip-drip of news reports about dealings between Russians and President Donald Trump’s inner circle.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's Action. more »